How to use Diablo 4 gems in sockets to improve equipment

Dec 05, 2023

Make your gear better by socketing gems in Diablo 4

Using Diablo 4 gems and sockets is a great way to upgrade your equipment, as you can use these jewels to imbue your gear with additional perks such as increased damage, additional life on kills, and higher levels of resistance to certain elements. Naturally you want to arm yourself with the best equipment you can in Diablo 4, and this process allows you to make small adjustments to your items so you can tailor it to your specific requirements. Things can get a bit complicated if you're not sure how this system works, so here's an explanation on how to make your gear better by socketing gems in Diablo 4.

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Gems in Diablo 4 are random loot drops, which means you can get them by defeating enemies, opening chests, and generally interacting with or smashing up the objects that you find on your travels around Sanctuary. There are various different types of gems you can discover, and although each variant will take up a slot in your inventory you can stack multiple gems of the same type together. By visiting a Jeweler in a town once you reach Level 20 you can use their Craft Gems service to combine three of the same gems into one higher level gem with better stats, and this process also takes into account any gems you've placed in your Stash so you don't need to go and fetch them first.

If you have any equipment in your inventory with empty socket(s), indicated by a black circle over the top of the icon, then the process to socket gems in Diablo 4 is a straightforward one. Simply hover over the gem in your inventory and follow the Socket prompt, which will highlight any equipment that can receive it into a socket, then select the item to insert the gem.

Note that gems provide different buffs depending on whether they're socketed into a weapon, armor, or jewelry item, so hover over the gem to reveal the different stats and make an informed decision on how you want to use it. After doing this, highlight the equipment in your inventory and you can see what buffs are being provided by gems. Once a gem has been socketed you can't remove it yourself, but this is a service a Jeweler can provide for a cost.

Another service offered by a Jeweler is to add more sockets to your gear in Diablo 4, meaning you can prep equipment to receive a gem when it couldn't before or create an additional slot – from what we've seen so far, two sockets appears to be the maximum number you can have on a single piece of gear. After choosing Add Socket from the Jeweler menu, gear that can receive an additional slot will be highlighted, though bear in mind you'll potentially need a rare crafting material as well as gold to complete this transaction.

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Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.

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